The Murdering Aristocrat
by Vicious-Okami
Summary: Today is the day that the world ended, vanishing quietly and without a trace into the dark. A cloud of fear and worry has descended. Ratings will go up.
1. Default Chapter

This was written months ago following a marathon of Broken Sword and Resident Evil. Comments and Suggestions would really be appreciated since I'm at a loss with this story that seems to have a mind of it's own. I guess I could say this is a rough draft but I liked the reviews for those silly little drabbles so much I decided to share this. Let me know how you like it, yes?

Read on.  
_All standard disclaimer applies. Utena does not belong to me._  
-Okami

**Book One: The Murdering Aristocrat**

Today is the day that the world ended, vanishing quietly and without a trace into the dark. A cloud of fear and worry has descended. We are alone in this massive Academy, since Headmaster Akio passed away. Found in his observatory, cold, wrapped in a sheet--flowers placed around the body to hide the smell. His spell was instantly broken, incompetent police were called in. _It was homicide. _They claimed, _Murder._ The usual suspects, the fiancé, the secret lover, the sibling, all had air tight alibis. So who would do it? No, I'll rephrase that, who _could_ do it? Who could slay the prince, who could possibly play the murder and end everyone's suffering and despair? But that is not the day the world ended. Oh no, The world ended, **my **world ended the day Arisugawa, Juri went missing. You see that day marked the beginning of the end for us. The last apocalyptic sign that Headmaster Akio's power was no more and it started with her. Juri. Sigh.

With Arisugawa, Juri's disappearance came a string of mysterious deaths. All the victims had their bodies torn apart by what appeared to be large dogs. Students and teachers a like are afraid to leave their rooms at night, a strict curfew is now in place and the gateway to the Arena Forest has been securely locked down. The Student Council was disbanded, the bells now tone in remembrance of lives lost--a knell. As for the duels, weapons of any sort are no longer allowed on campus, no fencing coils, no bokken. Law Enforcement are stationed in strategic areas, swarming around the grounds like roaches. The fantasy, the magic of it all slowly faded from our hearts and our minds. Did some sort of twisted Revolution happen behind our backs? It must have, the reality of it all is one big undertow.

Another sigh. Let me start this again. Calmly, now. From the very start.

You see, a package arrived for me that day, that day the world ended, and with impeding doom I opened it. Inside was a diary, a fairly new one, only a few pages had been written in but the handwriting was familiar. And I understand now, quiet clearly. As I read, I realized that I must make things right again. Without the enchanted sword or the witch everyone else is pretty much useless. Whoever is behind this, is exploiting our major weakness, well, their major weakness. I still have my brain--my wit, my smarts. These uniformed outsiders will never be able to bring us justice, but I will.

My investigation starts here.

**October 8th**

_I've been eating a lot lately. Taking two, sometimes three meals before sitting down to dinner. The strange thing is; I haven't gained any weight. In fact I'm loosing. Maybe I should see a doctor about this..._

**October 10th**

_Got a clean bill of health. Doctor Nguyen said that my metabolism had increased due to regular exercise. Which explains my appetite but doesn't quite explain the weight loss. Dr. Nguyen suggests a high protein diet._

**October 20th**

_Inherent hunger...I'm constantly eating but it doesn't seem to be enough. My stomach cramps with hunger pains all the time now. My head hurts. I get these weird cravings for meat all of a sudden._

**October 22nd**

_Ate raw beef dripping with blood straight out the container. I didn't get sick and for the first time in days my stomach didn't growl. What's happening to me? I should see Doctor Nguyen..._

**October 23rd**

_I was screened at the clinic for parasitic worms in my intestines. Tests can back negative. I was healthy. Doctor Nguyen sent me home with a note to excuse me from school for a few days. So I could rest._

**October 25th**

_I ate dog food today...and...two raw steaks...it was so delicious...it filled my belly...but the cravings...it was still there....I'm afraid....I'm afraid that prepackaged meat won't be enough...._

**October 26th**

_Stopped going to school after Shiori cornered me in the dojo today. It seems they are worried about me. Miki, Touga, Utena, all of them. She even accused me of doing drugs, although I don't blame her...my eyes are turning redder by the day._

**October 27th**

_Hurts....the hunger pains are back...god it hurts so much I can barely think straight....much less write this...but I must. Something awful is happening....something not natural...I can't keep anything down...my stomach demands flesh...human flesh...oh god...someone help me..._

The entry was barely legible and trailed off wildly at the end. It was the last page in the black notebook. The date was three days before Juri went missing.

__

November 13th The Karou Household

Miki clutched the diary to his chest. "Cannibalism... those deaths, could she be behind those?" He shuddered, "Of course not. The bodies had been torn apart by wild animals. But...if what Juri was saying was true then something _super natural_ is going on." Miki sighed, deciding to call it a night. "I'll see this Doctor Nguyen in the morning." He muttered, stumbling out of the study and into his shared room, shedding his clothes at the door. He climbed into bed with the diary still firmly grasped in one hand. Kozue was all ready fast asleep, mouth parted in the softest of snores. Miki smiled and flicked off the lamp.

"What do you mean a Doctor Nguyen doesn't work here?" The blue-haired duelist demanded. "Just what I said." The receptionist answered calmly, safe behind the glass shielding. "There is no Doctor employed here by that name."

"What about a patient then? Her name is Arisugawa, Juri. She was here recently for a check up."

"Oh?" The woman said in recognition, "The girl that went missing. Listen, are you a detective? Because the police have already been by."

"No, I'm a very dear friend of hers." Miki said sadly. The woman was silent for a moment. Eyeing the boy through a sheet of bullet proof covering. "Miss Arisugawa did schedule an appointment with us October 10th and again on the 30th but she never showed up for either of the appointments."

Never showed up? That can't be right unless- No, it wouldn't make sense for Juri to lie about something like that.

"Let's say she did show up." Miki began, "Wouldn't she have documents from the physician?"

"Detailing her physical status? Why, yes." She replied. _I thought so, all I have to do now is search Juri's apartment for the carbon copies of her medical visits. _Miki smiled a tired washed out smile, "I see thanks for your help ma'am." He called, running out the building and onto the chilly streets. He barreled down the sidewalk, making the trip to the apartment in record timing, taking to the stairs two at a time. Panting, Miki went to open the door and much to his dismay found it locked. "I was stupid to believe no one would check to make sure everything was locked up." He said, frowning at the _Crime Scene Investigation_ tape that had been tacked onto the door. Exiting out the hallway window Miki stepped towards the balcony's railing, peering out into the apartment next door. '_Maybe I can get in this way.'_ He looked down then quickly back up, his heart pounding. _'Man that's a long way down. But....' _Terrible images of what could have happened to his friend raised Miki's courage. _'Here goes.'_ He climbed over the rail, feet supported by a thin bar of metal. he gulped, kept his eyes forward and shimmied across to the neighboring balcony.

_**Arisugawa Residence, November 14th**_

Miki let out a huge sigh of relief when his feet touched concrete. _'You know now that I think about it, that was a very stupid thing to do...' _He laughed and tried the glass door. "Locked." He rattled the handle angrily. "Damn!" The duelist cried and punched the window, tears of frustration filling his eyes. '_I risked my life for nothing.' _He rested his forehead against the cool surface of the glass, the interior of Juri's bedroom mocking him, when something caught his keen eye. The door was slightly ajar, he realized, though the latch was firmly in place. "Hm..." Miki pulled a pen from his breast pocket, felling much like George Sttobbart, the famous detective whose occupation was a patent Lawyer. He stuck the tip in between the gap of the two doors and gave a little wiggle. The latch came away easily. "Ah-ha!" Grinning like a fool, Miki pulled open the door and walked inside. It was dark and the smell of spoiled meat immediately assaulted his senses. "God!" He covered his nose with a hand and reached out with the other to turn on a light switch.

Roaches on the carpet...

"AH!" Miki jumped back against the door, creeped out. There were swarms of them, crawling from underneath the bed. It was probably where the source of the smell was coming from. _'Why would Juri hide food under the bed? She such a stickler for cleanliness.'_

Deciding it was best not to examine this room too thoroughly, Miki walked out into the living room which lay in ruins. The police had been through everything. Papers and magazines had been tossed carelessly on the floor. Drawers had all been searched and much to the blue-haired boy's horror there were still blood stains on the floor, although dried. _"The officers said there were signs of a struggle but no forced entry." _Miki recalled. _It doesn't match_ _up_. He thought while kneeling. Tentively he ran his fingers over the stains and his hand came away with very fine hair, clumps of it. Licking his dry lips, Miki examined the hairs closer. It was a very light brown, he rolled it around in his fingers and frowned. It wasn't hair, it was..."Fur." lots of it. he looked around for something to wrap the clue in and decided to check the kitchen for a ziplock. The floorboards under the rug creaked suspiciously as he passed over them. He'd examine them later.

The kitchen was a spacious disaster area. The cabinets had been torn off and all its contents ripped open, eaten and discarded on the floor. Wading his way through the mess, Miki rummaged through the garbage on the counter for the item. He found one buried under an empty carton of Singapore noodle and sealed the evidence inside, hiding it in one of the many pockets of his jacket. With that done it was time to explore those squeaky floorboards.

Miki kicked back the rather tasteless rug and tapped the boards with the tip of shoes, gingerly nudging the wood until one of them gave a shriek of protest. "What's this?" he crouched down, "one of the floor boards is loose." Miki pulled it free. Blue-eyes widened in surprise, "A safe." He breathed, "An electronic safe. Why in the world is this here?" In vain he tried the logical passwords: Juri's birth date, her telephone number...Shiori's birth date-nothing. "Damn." Another obstacle to overcome. "Those copies might be in there..." Although it was probably unlikely. A hopeless sigh. "Might as well see if I can get this fur sample checked out." He mumbled to himself, which he'd been doing a lot of lately. Perhaps he needed a sidekick, the thought made him smile ruefully.

"Thought I'd find you here." Miki started violently at the voice and ended up shutting the door with a bit more force than necessary. He could barely make at the figure across from him, her dark coat, pants and matching scarf blended in perfectly with the shadowed doorway.

"What are you doing here, Kozue?" Kozue pushed away from the wall and came to stand very close to her brother. Blue clashed with blue until Miki looked away, unable to stand that probing gaze any longer. "Utena and her pet came by looking for you." She said, "They asked me where you were and for the first time ever I didn't know." Miki flinched, "Kozue..."

"Why can't you let the police handle this?" She wanted to know, "We are all concerned about Juri but honestly there is nothing we can do ." Kozue didn't sound very worried, in fact her voice was tinged with a familiar darkness.

The young duelist uttered a sound of disgust, "You're jealous?" He said, incredulous. His twin remained silent; her gaze steady, never wavering and Miki read the answer there.

"You've got to be kidding!"

"This is becoming an obsession. You're hardly home. You fall asleep in class. You barely eat and now you're breaking and entering." She sighed, her whole demeanor suddenly softening. "Does she really mean that much to you?"

"Yes." Miki found himself answering without hesitation.

The younger of the two twins turned, rubbing her arms through the rough fabric of her London fogger, "And you wonder why I'm so jealous." She said under her breath, "We're going home now." Her tone held no room for argument. "I made coffee. It should still be warm." She stomped down the stairs with Miki right behind her. "You're going to tell me everything." Kozue said once they were on the sidewalks enjoying the cool winds of early winter. The sun was low in the sky, shining dully. In the distance clouds were gathering. It was suppose to rain tomorrow...

"Everything?" Miki echoed. Kozue cut her eyes at him, "No secrets." He nodded his agreement. _No more secrets._ They were quiet the whole way home.


	2. Chapter 2

She dreaded coming here, down the long stretch of hallway, past the patients, the operating rooms, all the other offices. In the elevator, down to the basement. She hated it, the brightness of the light bulbs, the stench, the odd instruments, the locked cell on the other end of the laboratory. Most of all, she hated the women that was sitting at a desk typing furiously on a laptop.

"He came," A-ko began. "Just like you said he would."

"Shut the door. Have a seat." She did as she was told, the door closed with an audible click. A-ko took the only free chair across from her boss, she was friendly looking with blonde hair and dark green…killer smile. It made her nervous, a feeling she can't ever remember having, there was a time she had been invisible. A shadow.

"And? What did you tell him A-ko?"

"I…I told him Doctor Nguyen didn't exist."

"Good," The woman said, "Good." And began typing once more.

"What if he comes back? What if someone finds out about…"

Ohtori, Kanae laughed briefly, "Oh A-ko, I'm counting on it. His feelings for Juri is something that will most definitely come in handy. It could help me gain more control of that….thing in there." Her gaze slanted towards the locked cell.

A-ko shivered at the very thought of what lay on the other side. "but…" _What about the girl?" _Kanae sighed then, "No buts little shadow. You do as I say when I say. I don't want or need your questions, now get out."

"Yes, sir." Boy did A-ko hate everything and anything dealing with this woman.

Murdering Aristocrat  
Part Two

**Kaoru Residence**

Fear descended on Miki, trembling he placed down the empty coffee cup. It was evening now, pitch dark, heavy rain clouds blocked the moon and stars. It looked scary outside, anything could be lurking in the darkness. Miki shook again and finally lifted his eyes to look at Kozue, searching her face. Miki had told Kozue everything. His suspicions, the faulty police work, left-over evidence, possible clues, his worries, and through it all his twin simply sat there, legs crossed, eyes locked firmly on his person. She didn't interrupt and even now Kozue was silent, slowly digesting all of the information. She reached toward the center of the sturdy oak wood table, refilled her cup with the coffee pot and drank it bland—with out sugar or milk.

"You've…certainly been busy." Steam curled wickedly around Kozue's pixie-like face. She regarded Miki over the rim, smirking faintly. "I'm surprised you managed to keep all this from me." Sigh. "What can you possibly do, Miki? You aren't a detective, who's gonna analyze that fur sample for you? Brother, you committed a crime going back to that apartment, I bet your fingerprints are all over Arisugawa's things now. What if the police come back and investigate, then what? You go to prison. They interrogate you, all of us, all over again for some now lead?"

The fear in Miki peaked. His heart was pounding. Could she hear it? It seemed like it, the way she moved in for the kill, all quiet calm so against her fiery, cold nature. She was trying to manipulate him out of searching for his friend.

"I won't stop looking for her Kozue!" Miki said, still trembling, heart still pounding. He had a queasy feeling she'd tell, that she'd go to their parents, have him shipped away if he didn't listen.

"I didn't say to stop looking." Kozue said.…Well, maybe she was simply trying to keep him out of trouble. "I simply pointed out the fact that you aren't George Stobbart what you're doing is very real and very dangerous. If this…killer of sorts is supernatural as you suggest, what the hell are you gonna do when you come fact to face with it? Call on the power of Dios!"

Miki gripped fist fulls of his hair and pulled. Frustration mingled in, making him red in the face. "I don't know! I don't know what I'm going to do Kozue but I do know one thing." He glared, brow furrowed in the meanest frown ever. His eyes sparked blue fire. Miki was pissed, he was pissed and he was determined. "I will find her and no one's going to stop me, not you or anyone!" He yelled, beating his fists on the table.

Kozue looked away from her brother to the spilled remains of her drink. The cup had tipped over, rolled a few feet and shattered on the floor.

"Well." She said, "looks like I can't convince you otherwise and you're certainly passionate about it. I'm sure if I told mommy and daddy on you, you'd find a way to your damsel in distress." A sly smile. Miki was rather shocked at the abrupt change in his twin. "I guess I have no choice but to help you. I know no other way to keep you out of trouble." Ah, then…still at a loss for words, Miki could only gape at her. Kozue laughed, shaking out her hair.

"Why are you so stupefied? Did you actually think I'd rat you out. I love you Miki and yes I am most definitely the possessive type but…you'd never, ever forgive me or love me if I did that to you." No secrets... No secrets between them for a reason. Relief crashed over him in waves and Miki felt ridiculous for ever having doubted his sister.

"Now about this Doctor Nguyen…"

"I don't know. The receptionist said there was no such doctor." He sighed, too drained to be frustrated.

"Really? How odd considering the fact I not only have heard of her, but I've visited her myself a couple times actually. That's not important right now though." Miki's eyes were wide in a 'how can that NOT be important' expression. "I recommend you go and see Shiori before it gets too late. She was the last person to see Juri and I hear they use to be really close."

"Kozue…" He began, that truly was the good idea. Why didn't he think of that. "Thank you."

"Ah, get going. I'll handle the Doctor."

**November 14 Takatsuki Residence**

He hadn't seen nor heard from Shiori since the investigations. The girl had simply dropped off the face of the planet, she hadn't been to any of her classes or the campus for that matter. She had been cleared by the police but the bad publicity of being accused of abducting Juri had caused her to close herself off from the world. Miki's hand poised to knock, but just stood there, listening. The TV was extremely loud and alarm shot through him. No one kept their TVs that loud unless they didn't want anyone to hear anything, he was no detective but…

Miki tested the doorknob, it was open. "Shiori?" He breathed, heart threatening to burst out of his chest. The room was dark save for the glow of the television, everything was neat and tidy. He moved deeper into the dormitory, "Anybody home?" No answer, naturally. He flicked on a nearby lamp, blinking at the sudden brightness. His eyes swept over the room. Magazines littered a coffee table and sofa, a work desk tucked into a corner had unfinished homework…strange books sat on the neighboring bookshelf. Strange books. Miki went to get a closer look at the titles, they started off normally, textbooks, mystery novels, Romance the occasional manga, then grew into something more…odd. _Werewolves and other creatures_, _a Field Guild to the Supernatural_, _How to Ward off Even Spirits _and so on and so forth. He pulled out a particularly interesting title _The Basics of Human Transformation _and tucked the small paperback into his pocket.

"Where could she be?" He wondered out loud, clicking off the television. The silence made him uneasy but it was better than that racket.

"S…Somebody…h-help…" It was a whisper of a voice and it came from the bedroom. Miki nearly tripped over himself to get there. "Shiori!" What he saw was something he'd never forget. Shiori was face up on the bed, wheezing. Her shirt was torn and the skin beneath was completely mangled. He covered his mouth in horror, frozen in the doorway. He could see her intestines, blood gushed forth every time she attempted a breath. Her limbs were twitching sporadically.

"He…hel-" She went limp, her pleas dying on her lips. It was a powerful experience, seeing a life slip away. You could almost see the soul exiting the body. Shiori relaxed completely and the eyes lost it's spark. Miki, took one step back…then another and another and another, until his back touched the wall.

Then he screamed.

_To be continued…_

AN: It's been years but I am finally back. Real life took it's toll on me greatly, I moved to a new state all on my own for three years. I found love and heartache there, I miscarried, I cried, I drank, I made friends, but I'm finally back in my own town, recovering…healing…and with it came an urge to write fan fiction again. I'm a little rusty so I hope you can forgive me. Later.


End file.
